


I need a girl like you

by bad_ash10



Series: We've Come a Long Way from Where We Began [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel
Genre: F/M, POV Melinda May, Parent Melinda May, Parent Phil Coulson, Parenting Class
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 17:58:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15977525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bad_ash10/pseuds/bad_ash10
Summary: Philinda fluff. Melinda thinks shes prepared for childbirth, but Coulson has been gone for 8 months and wants to learn. He convinces May (without too much arguing) to take a childbirth/parenting class to prepare.





	I need a girl like you

**Author's Note:**

> This is literally just fluff. Coulson and May need some happiness.

“I’ve been thinking,” Phil said as he swallowed a bite of pancakes.

  
“What about?” Melinda asked suspiciously before taking a bite of her scrambled eggs.

  
“Have you thought about taking a Lamaze Class?”

  
Next to Melinda, Daisy snorted into her orange juice.

  
Ignoring her, May scrutinized Coulson, trying to determine if he was serious. “You’re kidding, right?”

  
“Well, no. It seems like we would need to go right? Discuss birth plans and what to expect in the delivery room and how I can help you.” Phil seemed genuinely excited by the idea.

  
May stared at him in shock for a moment. “No.”

  
“No? What do you mean ‘no’?”

  
“I mean I don’t want to go. I’ve read books and talked to Simmons.” She took a bite of her toast, thinking that would be the end of the conversation.

  
Daisy had finished her breakfast and as she stood to leave, she put a hand on Phil’s shoulder in solidarity. “Good luck with that conversation.”

  
He watched her leave before continuing. “Why not, Mel?”

  
“Lamaze seems pointless. I’m trained to handle pain, Phil.” She leaned back and propped her hands on her belly.

  
“Melinda, I have no idea what to expect and I don’t have months to learn. I only have a few weeks at best.”  


She was eyeing him warily. “Is this something you really want to do?”

  
“If not Lamaze, maybe just a general childbirth prep class? I don’t want to stand in the corner the whole time twiddling my thumbs. I want to be there for you for this. It’s going to be the most important day of our lives.”

  
He looked so hopeful she couldn’t bear to turn him down. “One class,” she sighed in defeat.

\----------

  
“Phil, we’re the oldest couple here by at least 20 years,” Melinda hissed in his ear as he took her coat.

  
“I think you’re exaggerating. Looks more like about 10.” He replied with a smile.

  
Anyone else would have faltered at her glare, but he just smiled widely.

  
“Hello!” Exclaimed a cheerful voice from behind them. “You two must be the Johnsons!”

  
May and Coulson turned around to face the young blonde instructor with bright smiles on their faces. Coulson extended a hand in greeting, “How’re you? I’m Phil Johnson and this is my wife, Melinda.”

  
“Nice to meet you,” May said sweetly.

  
“I’m Nicole. I just wanted to welcome you guys to the class before we begin. Is this your first?”  
Phil smiled as he answered, “We have an adopted daughter, but this is our first biological child.” He dropped his voice to a whisper and winked at the instructor, “She was a bit of a surprise.”

  
“Oh, how sweet! I always love when couples join us to prepare for their late in life babies. That’s wonderful that you chose to adopt in the mean time!”

  
Melinda’s grip had been getting steadily tighter on Coulson’s hand while the overly perky Nicole was speaking.

  
The younger woman continued, “and I must say I’m surprised you have waited this long before starting the class. You look about ready to pop!” she said to Melinda.

  
“Well that’s my fault actually. I’ve been overseas for the last few months and didn’t even know she was pregnant until I got back.”

  
Nicole faltered slightly. “My dad was in the military, so I definitely understand. That must’ve been hard for you without speaking to him for all those months!”

  
Melinda nodded. “Our daughter has been a great help so far. She’s in her 20s so she’s been great.”

“Oh, I love that! She must be so excited!” Someone across the room beckoned Nicole. “Duty calls! Make sure you grab a mat near the front since it’s your first time!”

Melinda’s smile never faltered, but through gritted teach she whispered to Coulson, “Like hell.”

Phil pulled his hand away, flexing it gently. “Geeze, Mel, when did you become the Hulk with that death grip?”

“Let’s go.”

Coulson was taken aback by her sudden statement. “What? Why?”

“She called us old and she called me fat. _Let’s go.”_ She said irritably.

“Come on,” he coaxed. “It won’t be that bad. Just try it once. For me?” He leaned in and kissed her gently after making his request. “Please?”

Melinda huffed slightly. “Be glad I love you. This is worse than that undercover op we did in Greece not long after the Academy.”

Phil snorted. “I almost forgot about that. I thought you were going to punch that nun in the throat when she insinuated you were dressed like a prostitute. Surely this isn’t that bad?”

She glared at him in response as she led him to a mat on the end of the third and final row. Nearly as soon as they were settled onto their mat on the floor, Nicole was at the front of the class calling all of their attention to her.

“Ok, let’s go ahead and get this party started! I know most of you from some of our other classes like Relaxation Techniques or What to Expect, but there are two brand new expectant parents joining us. Phil and Melinda, do you want to introduce yourselves?” She gestured to them and the other eleven couples all turned in their direction.

Melinda had been resting her hand on Phil’s blue jean clad knee and suddenly dug her nails into him. He took that as his cue to speak. “I’m Phil and this is Melinda. We’ve adopted, but this is our first biological child. Mel is pretty much prepared, but I have been out of the country with the military, so I am the one who doesn’t know what to expect going forward.” He looked at Melinda and smiled. “She’s only here as a favor to me. Thanks, babe,” he ended with a kiss.

Melinda grinned at him as the room “aww”-ed at their exchange. She wasn’t quite as unhappy to be there anymore.

\-----------

By the end of the first hour of the class, Phil had already been declared the model student. He had borrowed a spare notebook from the worried father-to-be on the row ahead of them and had already made ten pages of notes. They had so far covered what to expect during labor and were now covering what to expect during delivery.

Melinda had already been over all of this with both Simmons and her OB and was quite bored with the class. Plus, she was ready to shoot whoever thought it was a good idea to have a group of 12 pregnant women sit on glorified yoga mats on the floor. _Only a man would come up with an idea that stupid._

They finally made it to the point in the class where there was some participation required instead of just listening to Nicole talking. Not that it was much better. Nicole had the group practicing breathing exercises to help stay calm in the delivery room, and Melinda was getting angrier by the minute. All of her training was so much more comprehensive than what they were studying. _This is not the way to relax when you’re in pain._

Coulson must’ve sensed the murderous mood that Melinda had slipped into in the last few moments. From over her shoulder he whispered jokingly, “Mel, play nice.”

“These exercises are a load of crap and you know it.” Nicole had made all of the pregnant women sit between their partner’s legs, using them as support for this portion of the class. Melinda had to admit that getting to sit with Phil was the best part of the class, but it didn’t totally make up for the ridiculous techniques being taught.

Phil gave a small chuckle that she felt more than heard. “Remember, not everybody in here is a super spy trained to withstand torture or dislocate joints to escape captivity. They’re average people.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed, reminding herself for the 100th time that she was here for Phil.

\-----------

After the “taking care of baby” portion of the class concluded, Phil was helping Melinda back into her coat when she surprised him with a statement. “I’m glad we came.”

“Really?” he asked, surprised.

She turned to face him, pulling her hair from under her collar. “Surprisingly, yes.”

As he donned his own jacket he said, “Good. Me, too.” He reached for her hand, and she readily twined her fingers through his as they made their way out the door.

Melinda leaned into Phil’s side as they walked into the unseasonably frigid April evening. “Don’t get me wrong, parts of it were crap, but I did learn a few things at the end.”

His response was good natured as they crossed the street to where he had parked one of their SUV. “Yeah. Who knew that diapers, blankets, and bath times could be so complicated?” Phil gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before he opened the passenger door for her.

She looked apprehensively at the seat. “I don’t know if it’s worse trying to ease down into Lola or heave myself up into this stupid SUV,” Melinda sighed as she grabbed the handle with one hand and put the other hand on Phil’s shoulder, hoping to give herself a bit more stability as she stepped up onto the running board and into the vehicle.

Phil put a hand on her waist to give her a bit more support. “Sorry. We could’ve picked a better car, I guess.” He shut her door and half jogged around to the driver’s side before hopping in and putting the vehicle into gear. “Thanks again for agreeing to do the class. I know you didn’t want to.”

After a few moments, he put a hand on her thigh tentatively.

“I’m just glad you’re back,” she said as she covered his hand with her own, stroking his knuckles gently with her thumb. She felt the baby give a few little kicks and change position, which brought a small smile to her face. “If I don’t say it often enough, I love you,” she added softly to Coulson.

He pulled her hand gently to his lips and kissed her fingers. “I love you, too. And you don’t have to say it. I know because you show it instead. Like when you agreed to come to this class even thought you didn’t want to. I know it was just for my benefit.”

The couple grinned happily at one another, and spent the rest of the trip back to base still holding hands and catching up on all that had happened in the months they had spent apart.

 


End file.
